Wrong Again?!

Alright, so remember yesterday I thought, "Mike must have bought the nailer because $200 is waaaay too much for rental."

Wrong.

$160 for a week and then he got $40 worth of nails. Do you know how much it costs to purchase one at Home Depot? I do - we went and looked yesterday evening. $500 some odd dollars. So basically, when this machine rents out for just three weeks - it's more than paid for itself. I was outraged. But Home Depot's rental fees for the same type of nailer were even more expensive - they charged via 4-hour intervals or 24-hour intervals. $40 for a day. $40!! That puts a week with their nailer at $280.

They just don't think you're going to be flooring a whole 1/2 a house at one time. They think, "oh, the do-it-yourselfer isn't smart enough to go all out like that. They'll only do one 12x12 room at a time."

Be that as it may - now we're trying to push ourselves to work late nights yesterday and tonight and get just the bedroom done and then take the damn thing back. We'll rent it another couple days when we have all the furniture cleared out of the office. No use paying for it when we're not using it.

Why don't I just purchase the one at HD? I mean, eventually, we'll be doing the entire downstairs too. I guess I'm just too pissed off to purchase. I know that's a horrible excuse. But can't we get like, a USED one somewhere? The whole thing's just ridiculous.

On the brighter side... of life.. de doo dee doo be doo bee doo - sorry. It is Fancy Friday after all. And despite my pissed-off-ed-ness, I really am feelin good today.

I'm excited for my floor! Mike set the first few rows last night - he told me to leave the room early on because I was stressing him out. I was just so pissed about the nailer and the money and then I was all worried cause he wasn't following the written installation instructions - and apparently, I was breathing in a way that was somehow stressful. And I admit - I was freaking out like a girl and needed to just butt out. So I did.

I didn't even go up to look at it until after he'd left for work this morning. It looked good. I'm very excited. And, yes, I did apologize about being a psycho and asked if I could be allowed back up to help tonight. And he accepted my apology and oh isn't that great and warm and make you feel all yum dum doodle dum inside...

Now that the kodak moment is over, back to the issue. I really really want to get a lot accomplished tonight. If we don't finish the room, I want to be so damn close that we can get up early tomorrow and be done with it. I still have to do my third coat of paint, but of course, we have the nailer now and have to make tracks on the floor. So I'll just have to plastic. Hopefully I can do that Sat afternoon or evening.

And watch out for pics on Mon.

Another Nailer

Mike left the house early this morning to rent the nailer. Turns out it was $200. I wonder how long we get to have it for the $200 - because that seems really steep to me. Couldn't we buy one for that? Maybe that's what he did.

*Ok - since the last paragraph I looked up prices on power floor nailers. They're really varied - from $200 some dollars to $600 some dollars. So it's quite possible he could have purchased the thing - especially if you take into consideration that he used to work there at the United Rentals. They probably gave him a discount.

I wouldn't mind owning it for that price. Renting for that price? Pshaw. That's what I say. I better be able to keep it for like 6 mo's for $200.

Anyway, as you probably guessed Mike finished plywooding over the last two nights. I didn't get home in time from work on either night to help, unfortunately. But I do need to touch up my paint. I think since I have plenty left, I may as well third coat the whole thang tonight.

After the floor is in, we'll have to trim out the windows and put in baseboard trim. I mean, why not? All the furniture is outta there. If I was really cool I'd get my closet doors too - but I think I can wait on that.

But we have to do it quick - with everything out of that closet, there's clothes EVERYWHERE. Clean, dirty, mine, his - who knows - they're all over the place and all mixed together. And, being semi-OC about messes, I don't know how long I can stand to look at it before I break out a paper bag to breath through.

I Think I'm Wrong

I have to say, I just loved allll of your comments to my last entree. And you all are right - why should I obsess over it?

But, I have to admit - I was wrong.

Sunday I started painting, and decided to give method #2 a try. And by the time the first coat was on, I was in love. Leaving the entire top slant white totally makes the room look bigger! I love it. It 's a nice contrast to the red and matches my white TV stand.

Last night I did the second coat. I didn't look at it this morning, but hopefully this time around I wont' have to do a third coat.

Meanwhile Mike's been putting in the 1/2 inch plywood (underlayment for the hardwood) and boy has it been tricky. But I think we're making good progress. The bedroom is almost all done - and with very little cursing and swearing and throwing of hammers.

Tonight's madness involves removing the closet organizer - which is conveniently attached to the wall in, oh, 10 places! Last night I took out all the stuff in the closet though - so everything's ready to go. We'll probably use two more sheets of ply - which is two less than we thought we'd need. So that's good too. I hate to curse it, but everything is going smoothly.

Hopefully Mike will be able to see what it takes to rent the hardwood nailer too. If we can get that tomorrow night.... oooo! Think of the fun! I can't wait.

I think I'm Right

There is a debate that needs to be settled. Any maybe some of you house bloggers can help me out with this.

Ok - first off, my house is shaped like a barn with no dormers or anything. So the upstairs has slanted ceilings on both sides, a cathedral ceiling slant up, and a flat part at the very top of the ceiling.

The debate is in regards to painting - painting the room in dark color with a white ceiling.

First School of Thought: Paint the walls AND the cathedral slant up - only paint the flat part at the top of the ceiling white. This draws the eye up and makes the ceiling appear higher and the room, bigger. Painting the cathedral slant up white would bring the ceiling down and make the room feel small and short.

Second School of Thought: Paint only the walls. Painting the cathedral slant up and the flat part of the ceiling white will make the room appear larger because the lighter color will let more light into the room.

I learned of the first school of thought from HGTV - so I am of that mindset and believe that to be true. However, my neighbors are trying to convince me otherwise and it's pissing me off.

Also - I'm sick of everyone saying "dark colors make a room look smaller." It's absolutely ridiculous. People tell me that again and again because I happen to like dark colors. And I'm sick of it. Color is beautiful! I had to live in all white houses growing up and hated it. And now this ceiling thing. So settle the score for me, because I think I'm right.

Pros vs Joes

Dana and Rich were over again last night, putting on a second coat. They couldn't finish, mostly because everything is taking so long to dry in this winter weather. They have to come on Monday to give everything a light 3rd coat and a little bit 'o sanding. After that it looks like I'll be priming and painting the whole bedroom... again.

I'd like not to prime - but Dana advised it, and lets face it - I don't want to do these walls a THIRD time. This time I'm definitely going to use tinted primer though. I didn't the first time and it took a zillion coats to get it that deep red color. And the ceiling needs to be repainted too.

And then we've got to move all our office furniture across the room so they can get the 2nd half of the office done.

Ooo! Ooo! I have to tell you - I found the most awesome lamps at Walmart. Yes I know, I'm supporting "the man" and contributing to pollution, cheap overseas labor, and the end of the small business as we know it - BUT - I got three lamps that perfectly match my office FOR $7 EACH!!! One has a hyper modern pink and magenta lamp shade and a white base. One has a black w/fringies lampshade and a chrome base. And the last is a black hangy chandelier - very sheek (chic) and minimalist with a touch of that 70's bead door look - in black!

Good thing they only had a few left or I would have bought two of each!

Pictures! Pictures!

Finally - I remembered to take some picktures for all 'yalls. Ok. First off, check out my glass blockage. Now, I know I'm not a mason... or a tilest. But I'm really happy with this. Look how nicely the blocks fill in those tiny holes left by the smaller beams. (The big beam holes were where we put the basement windows seen in the wide shot) And you should see the beautiful light they let into the basement. How it comes through the glass is just beautiful. I love it.




Now onto last night's drywall. Our neighbors Dana and Rich were over and boy did they do an awesome job! Mike finally got to see some professionals in action and I think he learned a lot helping them. Which is great, because the drywall was so frustrating when we first did it. Rich was saying that he and Dana started in 1964. Too cool! Mike on the other hand started in 2005.


The whole thing brings back memories of our first drywalling experience - which was terrible. We hired some people who were... well, unprofessional at best. I'll leave it at that. We ended up having to re-mud and re-sand every room. It was horrible. Anyway, all that's over now.


So everywhere you see patched in the pictures formerly had cracks. The small patches are where new screws were added or old ones were re-patched. (Because you could see some of them.) The bedroom was really hit the hardest. The bedroom and the kitchen. The upstairs as a whole was never done right in the first place - so believe me I'm glad to have professionals helping us now!


The guys will be back in on Thursday to finish up. At that point it'll be me and the paint again. Joy. But all I have to remember is how good it's going to look. That otta keep me going. Maybe I'll even get eggshell this time instead of flat... Now that the drywall is fixed. Do I dare?

We've Got Wood

There's 500sq feet of hardwood sitting upstairs right now. And I have to admit, I was nervous about it. But when we picked it up last Saturday, brought it upstairs, and opened one of the boxes, I was excited and relieved to see that it was beautiful.

The color is awesome, the sheen is shiny, and it all seems to match everything perfectly. I love it. It's been hard to let it sit in the boxes, but it has to get used to the house's temp and humidity and all that for 3-7 days.

Up until Sunday, the plan was to install it this upcoming weekend. But on Sunday our neighbor Dana came by. Now he's an old drywall pro, now retired. (Makes a killer cranberry moonshine, tear-jerking jalepeno poppers, and venison chili that would grow hair on a gecko.) Anyway, he rightly pointed out that before we go putting down the hardwood, we should fix the drywall that was damaged during the house lifting. Because of course drywalling makes the biggest mess ever - next to demolition of course. Lucky for us, he offered his assistance, plus one of other other neighbors who used to work with him.

So they're coming over tonight to start. And believe me, having the drywall repaired is another sigh of relief that's been long awaited. We had to wait until winter was over because we wanted the house to have fully settled before we went fixing anything.

There's not much drywall damage in the office, but the bedroom is pretty bad - with 1/2 inch of crack separation in a couple of locations. So they'll probably start in there. And of course, once they're done, I'll have to paint again. Figures the bedroom is a deep burgundy color - so I'll expect to be doing a lot of coats.

Oh - and later on Sunday, our carpenter recommended we put down another 1/2 inch of plywood over the 3/4 we already have up there. So.... we'll have to do that too before any wood can go down.

Annoying isn't it? But I kinda saw it coming. I'll have to take some pics tonight. This cadbury egg tastes interestingly...

Addition Boredom

I am sooo totally bored. I'm at work... waiting for folks to get back from a meeting so they can throw a bunch 'o crap on my lap at 3pm on Friday that I have to prepare in a rush for Monday so I can get out of here on time so I can meet my friend for Chinese food on time.

Don't you love it? I hate knowing that there's a million things to do, but I can't do anything about any of them.

Anyway, whilst I was bored, I went into photoshop and did a quick bathroom addition rendition. I know the quality is mediocre, but I just wanted to see how it looked.

So here is a pic of the back of the house from the house lift so you can get an idea of its current structure.
And here is the photoshopped version I just finished.
So, as I said, it's not perfect. I'm not a designer by any stretch of the imagination. But you can see how it would look if we stacked a second bath on top of the original bathroom, following the roof line of the house. AND - with the addition of the chimney for a woodstove. I'll show it to Mike tonight and see if this was what he had in mind. The green door actually would go down into the basement - this area functions as our bulkhead too. (Just in case you thought it was weird that a bathroom had a door to the outside.)